Reports of a large increase in men seeking paternity tests have raised fears that it may tear families apart and leave children with psychological harm.
The issue has sparked a debate in the country since a newspaper published a statement claiming that a famous businessman - who had several wives - had an argument with one of them, causing him to seek paternity tests that allegedly prove he is the father of 15 of his 25 children.
The tycoon and his family have never publicly discussed the matter, and the report has not been confirmed. But the news spread like wildfire and has sparked controversy in the past few months, leading some lawmakers to call on men to stop putting families in psychologically damaging situations.
"Let us live as our ancestors lived. A child born at home is your child," Minister of Mineral Development Sarah Opendi said in parliament.
Although he confirmed his statement by adding that if a man wanted paternity tests it should be done when the child is born - not as an adult.
More worryingly, the private newspaper Monitor reported that the testing has led to domestic violence, where the police arrested an Israeli citizen living in Uganda for allegedly killing his wife after DNA results showed that he was not the father of their six-month-old child. .
The man has not yet been charged. Speaking in mid-July, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Simon Mundeyi, said there has been a 10-fold increase in requests for tests, which require the DNA of the father and child to be taken.
"We used to receive 10 applications every day in our government analysis laboratory. Now we have almost 100 every day and the number is still increasing," he added.
Private clinics also received money in the same fashion, placing advertisements on billboards to bid for the service.
This raised concerns that the results might turn out to be wrong, especially after reports emerged that suspected counterfeit testing equipment had been imported into Uganda.
The Ministry of Health intervened to control illegal sterilization and gave approval to only three state-run laboratories - although the director of public health, Daniel Kyabayinze, said the biggest buzz about the increase in the number of people seeking the service was online.
However, measures were being taken to ensure that families received counseling and psychological support when the tests were carried out.
"We have seen messages on the internet where people feel that fertility tests disturb families and can lead to sexual violence. We want to make sure that does not happen because of the results of these tests," Dr Kyabayinze told the BBC.
The debate which has been raging all over Uganda has been received with mixed feelings - from the bars to the Parliament; on public transport to the Twitter network, now known as X.
Expressing his support for the tests, Kampala resident Bwette Brian told the BBC:
"I think the man has the right to know whether the children are his or not. Children are a responsibility and every child must know the family he is attached to."
Dissenting, another resident, Tracy Nakubulwa, said: "I have seen happy marriages and families fall apart over the issue of fertility testing - and the children become the victims."
Human rights activist Lindsey Kukunda said the fact that wives sometimes have a secret relationship with another man, impregnating their husband with a child, "is not a new thing".
"Our grandfathers did it, our mothers did it," he said. He points out that when a couple has trouble having children, it is often the man who has fertility problems, where "in African cultures, if a woman is unable to have children, she will be abandoned or kicked out of the house".
"So what these men don't realize is that the women who gave birth to the children are sleeping with other men - so that they can get the child they want."
Ms. Kukunda criticized men who perform fertility tests based on two arguments. "It is normal for men to have relationships and bring children home - but the wives are raising these children as they are," he said.
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